In recent years, various electronic apparatuses, such as a portable personal computer and a digital TV, have been developed. Most of these electronic apparatuses comprise display panels such as liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.
In the electronic apparatus comprising the display panel, an LVDS I/F (Low voltage difference signal Interface) is used as an internal video interface for controlling the display panel. In the control of the LCD panel with the LVDS I/F, a video signal is sent to the LCD panel after power is supplied to the LCD panel, and thereby an image can be displayed on the LCD panel.
In the meantime, recently, use has begun to be made of an eDP (Embedded Display Port) I/F which is a new internal video interface that takes the place of the LVDS I/F. The eDP (Embedded Display Port) I/F can realize high-speed signal transmission with a less number of signal lines than the number of signal lines of the LVDS I/F. Thus, the eDP may become a dominant signal transmission method for display panels in the future.
However, since the eDP I/F is a standard based on a DisplayPort I/F which is an external video interface, it is necessary to execute processes, such as a hot-plug signal process and a link training process, during a period between power-on of the LCD panel and the transmission of a video signal to the LCD panel. Consequently, in the electronic apparatus using the eDP I/F, a relatively long time is needed from the power-on of the LCD panel until the actual display of the image on the LCD panel. This is a factor leading to degradation in user operability.